McNabb Was Not the Problem

Heading into Week 12, the Eagles are 4-6. They are 0-4 in the division. They are 1-5 in the conference. Quarterback Donovan McNabb was put on injured reserve last Tuesday. The season, for all intensive purposes, is over. It is time to point fingers.

This process has already begun in Philadelphia. In fact, it probably started three weeks ago, but the Eagles weren't officially done until they lost to the Giants. That was their last glimmer of hope. If they swept the Giants and some things went their way, maybe they could have snuck in the back door of the playoffs.

So where did it all go wrong? Who is to blame for the possible end of the Eagles as we know them? McNabb? T.O.? Andy Reid? All of these people are partially responsible, but the main contributor to the demise of the 2005 Philadelphia is the defense.

For years, dating back to the Buddy Ryan era, the defense has been the catalyst of the Eagles. Until last season, when the offense became explosive for the first and perhaps last time under Andy Reid, the Eagles went as far as the defense would take them. There has been a significant drop-off in the level of play of the defense this season.

This season the Eagles are giving up 333.9 yards a game, good for 27th in the NFL. That stat isn't alarming considering the Eagles have been known to give up yards, but in the past that was all they gave up. The Eagles made it a point to put the pressure on when teams got a sniff of the red zone. That is not the case this season. The Eagles are ranked 24th in the NFL in scoring defense, giving up 23.2 points a game. Compared to 2003 and 2004 when the Eagles gave up 17.9 and 16.3 points a game, respectively, it is easy to understand why the Eagles are 4-6 this year.

To succeed in today's NFL a team needs, at the bare minimum, a mediocre defense. The only two teams that have overcome bad defenses in recent memory are the Indianapolis Colts prior to this season and the 2003 Kansas City Chiefs.

It is much easier to win with a great defense and a sub-par offense. Just look at the 2000 Baltimore Ravens and this year's Chicago Bears. Both of those offenses make the Eagles' offense look like the 1984 Miami Dolphins.

The problems with the Eagles defense starts up front. Other than Jevon Kearse, when he is not getting doubled and tripled team, the defensive line has been getting zero pressure on the quarterbacks. N.D. Kalu is a pass rushing specialist who has one sack. Darwin Walker is starting to show his wear and tear. Sam Rayburn is a former truck driver. Mike Patterson is a promising rookie, but he only has two sacks. Besides Kearse, the only other defensive lineman playing good is rookie Trent Cole, who played well in his first career start Sunday against the Giants and has five sacks.

The Eagles have just as many problems at linebacker. Jeremiah Trotter is a great run-defender, but is a liability in pass coverage. Dhani Jones is just an average linebacker and neither Keith Adams nor Mark Simoneau is a starting linebacker in the NFL. It has always been Andy Reid's philosophy that linebackers aren't important to his defensive scheme, but it may be time to have a major overhaul to their linebacking core.

The strength of the Eagles' defense has always been their defensive backs. Last season, Brian Dawkins, Michael Lewis, and Lito Sheppard all went to the Pro Bowl. This season, the only one that is playing good is the only one who didn't go to the Pro Bowl last year, Sheldon Brown. Dawkins has lost a step and seems to always be a split second too late. Lewis only has one interception. Sheppard, before he was hurt Sunday, was getting beat consistently for touchdowns.

Instead of the defense, most of the criticism about the team has fell on McNabb's shoulders, which is unfair. The man has thrown for over 2,500 yards, 16 touchdowns, has had four 300-yard games, and has 85.0 passer rating. Do you think Daunte Culpepper would like to have those numbers? McNabb has been inconsistent, but he has not played as poorly as Eagles fans would have you believe.

In three out of the last four games, the offense has played well enough to win, with the exception being the 17-10 loss to Washington.

Against Denver, McNabb almost brought the Eagles back from 28-0 deficit. He did throw a crucial interception in the end zone as the Eagles were about to tie the game, but the defense, in turn, allowed the Broncos to go right down the field right for three touchdowns after that.

In the Dallas game, McNabb threw another crucial interception that gave the Cowboys the go-ahead touchdown, and many believe that cost the Eagles the game. People forget that on the Cowboys' drive right before the interception, the Eagles defense allowed them to score on four plays.

Last Sunday, the Eagles scored a touchdown with 8:13 left in the game to cut the giants lead to 20-17. The Eagles defense responded by giving up a 61-yard bomb to Plaxico Burress. Game over.

Combine the fact that Eagles are giving up more points this season and that they are not coming up with stops at the most crucial points of games, it is very hard to win football games. If the Bears played the Giants last Sunday, the offense would have gotten the ball back with the score 20-17.

If the Eagles don't want to finish the season 5-11, then the defense must improve and quickly. That means the defense better show up on Sunday and not let Brett Favre throw for 350 yards and four touchdowns for the last time. Of course, we wouldn't be having this discussion if Nick Barnett was their middle linebacker instead of Trotter.

What do you think, T.O.?